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Kratos
From the God of War wikia "''I will wash away my past... with the blood of Olympus! Chaos, will rise again!!" ''- Kratos''' Kratos is the main Protagonist of the God of War series. In God of War series Kratos' Early Life Born in Sparta, Kratos was monitored, like all other younglings. During several tests, those that were deemed fit were to stay in Sparta to be trained as Spartan protectors, while those deemed unfit would be sent to the mountains, sealing their fate. Kratos, already feisty and aggressive at his young age, was deemed worthy, unlike his younger brother Platos. Kratos soon became captain of a rapidly growing Spartan army, consisting first of only fifty men, later growing into the thousands. As a General, Kratos won many battles and brought back many treasures. He gave his wife a jeweled necklace, and his daughter Calliope a carved wooden flute. Over the course of his battles, Kratos' brutality and war-hunger increased rapidly, winning battles through unorthodox but effective tactics. Only his family was brave enough to question his motives. When questioned, he would claim he wanted the world to know the glory of Sparta, but his wife would reject these claims, saying he was doing it for himself. However, Kratos and his Spartan army would prove no match for the merciless Barbarian tribes of the east. Being outnumbered and overpowered, the Spartans were losing quickly. Kratos, about to be killed by the Barbarians' leader, pledged himself to Ares, the God of War, in exchange for victory. The God accepted, wiped out the Barbarians, and gave Kratos the Blades of Chaos as a sign of his servitude. Kratos served Ares loyally, raiding villages and spreading chaos in His name. However, during a raid on a village of Athena's followers, Ares tricked Kratos, having him kill his wife and child in a fit of blind rage. Ares later described his trickery as a means to make Kratos the perfect warrior. Stricken with horror and grief, Kratos left the bodies to be burned with the temple as he cursed Ares's name. The village oracle declared him cursed to wear their ashes for all time, as punishment for his actions. From that day forward, he became known as "The Ghost of Sparta", his skin now "pale as the moon" from the ashes that coated him. Afterward, the distraught Kratos was haunted by terrible nightmares over the death of his family. Over time, the memories and nightmares began to consume him, driving him to the brink of madness. Abandoning Sparta, Kratos traveled throughout Greece, finding some solace in sailing the Aegean Sea. To find peace again, he pledged his life and servitude to the other Gods of Olympus, in the hope that they would one day relieve him of his burden. To other mortals, he was now marked by his white skin. The knowledge of his past actions had been shown to repulse normal people to the point where they did not allow him to save their lives. He was to be forever known as the "Ghost of Sparta", the personification of cruelty and selfishness. Kratos would serve the gods for ten years following the death of his family. However, he always held on to the desire for revenge against Ares. Kratos' Servitude See also: God of War: Chains of Olympus During Kratos' ten years of servitude, the greatest task was given to him after he joined the army of Attica in their struggle against the invading Persian Army and the great beast they brought forth, the Basilisk. After a lengthy battle, Kratos killed both the King of Persia and the Basilisk, and, upon speaking to the Gods, he witnessed the Sun disappearing from the sky, leaving the world in the eternal darkness. The only presence of light is seen somewhere in the distance, and Kratos journeys there, only to discover the Temple of Helios and the city of Marathon. Kratos realizes that Helios, the God of Sun, has been captured by unknown force, allowing Morpheus, the God of Dreams, to cast Gods into a deep slumber, starting the invasion and covering Greece into his Black Fog. Fighting through Morpheus beasts, Kratos entered the temple, and soon is asked by Eos, the sister of Helios, to awaken her brother's Fire Steeds, which will take Kratos to where Helios is now. After awakening the Horse Gods, Kratos is taken to the Underworld, where he sees the glowing light of Helios, in a distance, right before the Pillar of the World. Kratos had to fight his way through Hades' domain, acquiring the mighty weapon, the Gauntlet of Zeus, visiting Tartarus, and killing Charon the ferryman of the dead in the process. Kratos discovers that it is Titan Atlas who has escaped Tartarus and captured Helios. Through all his journey, Kratos is plagued by the visions of his daughter, Calliope, and the song she plays with a flute he himself once presented her with. When Kratos reaches Pillar of the World and the Temple of Persephone that lies nearby, he has already forgotten about his task, thinking only of reuniting with his daughter. He encounters Persephone, who reveals that he could be with his daughter again, only if he gives away all of his power to the Forsaken Tree. Kratos does so, and enters the Elysium fields, where he met his daughter and is seen happy for the only time in his life. However, Persephone appears, revealing that it was she who rescued Atlas and asked him to capture Helios. With him, she is plotting to destroy the Pillar of the World, thus killing all Gods and majority of mortals. She taunts Kratos that he may live with his daughter for a short period, but when her plan is complete, Calliope will die too. Kratos forces himself to become the Ghost of Sparta again, by killing the innocent souls of Elysium and returning his powers. Upon running after Persephone, he realizes that he will never have the chance to be with his daughter again, and, hearing her crying behind him, his hate for the Gods whom he serves only becomes stronger. Kratos succeeds in killing Persephone and chaining Atlas to the ground above the Pillar of the World, thus completing his task. Before he leaves underworld, Atlas asks Kratos if he truly believes that the Gods will keep their promise. Kratos escapes Underworld with the use of Fire Steeds, but is too exhausted and falls from the Chariot to the ground below. He is saved by Athena and Helios, who strip him of the powers/weapons he acquired during the journey. Kratos' Final Task Kratos confronts the HydraSee also: God of War Ten years later, after killing the sea monster known as the Hydra, Kratos got a chance to seek his revenge on the God of War and rid himself of the terrible nightmares that haunted him. He is ordered by Athena to seek out Pandora's Box in order to help him destroy Ares. Kratos makes his way through war-ravaged Athens, killing countless minions of Ares and even the infamous Medusa, queen of the Gorgons. Following an Athenian Oracle's instructions, Kratos traversed the Desert of Lost Souls and found Pandora's Temple atop the back of the Titan Cronos. He made his way through the temple and retrieved Pandora's Box. After obtaining Pandora's Box, Ares hurls a huge broken Greek pillar towards The Temple of Pandora. The pillar impales and kills Kratos, sending him to Hades as Harpies take the Box. During the fall to the River Styx, Kratos is able to grab onto a ledge and then escapes the clutches of Hades. He is helped by the Gravedigger he met earlier. He then reacquires Pandora's Box from Ares and uses it to grow as large as the god. After a hard fight, Ares sucks Kratos into a void where four monstrous incarnations of himself were attempting to kill his family. He tries to save them but Ares strips him of the Blades of Chaos to murder his family again. When he snaps back into the real world, Ares is prepared to deliver the final blow, Kratos notices the Blade of the Gods, which connects Athens to a temple and uses it to destroy the God of War. Though his past had been forgiven, the gods could not relieve Kratos of his nightmares. His last hope taken from him, Kratos attempted to commit suicide by jumping off a cliff. Athena had a different plan for the Spartan. She saved his life and offered him the empty throne on Olympus. He entered the portal to Olympus and settled himself on Ares' throne, surrounded by statues of the great enemies he had bested. For all time, whenever and wherever battles were to be fought, for good or evil, they would be under the watchful eye of Kratos, the God of War. Kratos, The New God of War See also:'' God of War: Betrayal'' See also: God of War II As the new God of War, Kratos, still haunted by his nightmares continued his conquest, favoring his homeland of Sparta over all other nations. He ordered his Spartan legions to attack other Greek cities. Kratos seems to only take solace in war and bloodshed, often descending to Earth and fighting alongside his Spartan warriors. The endless battles were the only things that distracted him from his nightmares. He distanced himself from other Gods, still holding his grudge against them for the time he spent being their servant and the lies they spoke to him. However, soon he realized that the Gods might become unpleasant with the new God of War and will try to reject him. When Kratos, aiding the Spartans, in his mortal form, besieged one of the Greek cities, he is attacked by Argos, the pet of Hera. Before he could defeat the beast, it is killed by unknown Assassin, apparently trying to destroy his reputation on Olympus. Kratos pursued the Assassin, but his progress is halted by the minions of Hades himself. The God of War did not surrender and continued his pursuit nevertheless, only to be stopped by Ceryx, the messenger of the Gods, who allowed the Assassin to escape. Ceryx demanded Kratos to stop his pursuit in the name of Zeus, providing no answer and thus infuriating the God of War. Kratos kills the messenger and at this very moment he realizes that Zeus will eventually take action against him. Later, Kratos decided to lead his Spartans on Rhodes. Athena warned him to not upset the Gods again. However, he didn't listen to her. He then plunges down to Earth, wrecking havoc on the city. At this moment, an eagle (who he thinks is Athena), robs him of most of his godly power. This caused him to shrink to the size of a mortal man. Most of Kratos' godly power were placed into the Colossus of Rhodes, which was then brought to life. Kratos fights a long and hard battle with the giant until Zeus offers help in the form of the Blade of Olympus, which was used to end the Titan War. Infusing all of his powers and immortality into the blade, Kratos takes down his foe. As he shouts to the heavens, asking if he needed anything more to prove, the Colossus' falling hand crushes him. He began limping his way to the blade to save himself, only for the eagle to reveal itself to be Zeus, who explains he's trying to save Olympus from the same fate as Ares. The King of the Gods takes the blade and drives it into his chest, telling him he will never be the ruler of Olympus and all will suffer for his sacrilege. With a swing, he destroys all warriors in the city. With his last breath Kratos swears Zeus will pay. Kratos' Journey to Change His Fate "You will never control your fate Kratos!" - Clotho Kratos is then dragged down by the arms of the Underworld, but the Titan Gaia, who has been watching him his whole life, saves him, sealing his wound and giving him back the strength to escape death once again. He climbs out from the Underworld back into Rhodes, where he instructs a surviving soldier to return to Sparta for another battle. He takes Pegasus to fly back to Olympus so he could exact his revenge but the flaming winged horse would not listen to him. Gaia told him to seek out the Sisters of Fate so that he may travel back in time to reclaim the Blade of Olympus to take his revenge on Zeus. Kratos goes to Typhon's lair, where he meets Prometheus, who pleads him to release him from his torment in the fire of Olympus. Kratos takes a bow from Typhon and uses it against Prometheus' last chain, burning his flesh and his ashes granted him a Titan power. Kratos safely arrived on the Island of Creation, where he meets Theseus, who guards the Sisters. They fight to determine who is the best warrior; Perseus to save his beloved Andromeda; the Barbarian King who escaped Hades' torment to change his fate; and Icarus, who has gone crazy. After defeating them all, gaining valuable items from them, he falls into the Underworld once again, where he meets Atlas. The Titan is intent on crushing the former god for his imprisonment but Kratos promises to change his fate in exchange for his help. When he gets back to the surface, he accidentally wounds the Spartan soldier from earlier, who tells him that Zeus destroyed Sparta for serving Kratos. As he shouts out his anger, he is attacked by the Kraken. As he is held in the beast's grasp, Kratos sees his wife, which is actually Gaia, who encourages him to go on or face eternal torment in Hades, as Zeus will never forgive him. Kratos soon meets with Lahkesis, who tells him that the Fates decide the destinies of all and that she allowed him to come this far. However, she proclaims that it is not his destiny to kill Zeus. Kratos declares that she no longer controls his destiny before battling her, but she then summons Atropos, who takes him back in time to his battle with Ares, determined to destroy the Blade of the Gods, so he'd die in the present. He stops her and flings them back to the present. He fights both of the Fates and traps them in a mirror and then shatters it. He then goes to Clotho, who warns him not to go forward with his manipulation of fate. He kills her and takes control of the Loom Chamber, going back in time. Arriving in the past, he takes the Blade of Olympus back from Zeus, pulling it out of his other self. They fight on the Summit of Sacrifice. When Zeus unleashes a powerful lightning storm, Kratos yields defeat and surrenders. He asks to be put out of his misery. Zeus promises him a quick death, stating, "I will release you from your life my son, but your torment is just beginning." Kratos dodges the blow and pins Zeus to a rock with his blades. He then takes up the Blade of Olympus and drives it into Zeus' abdomen. He is stopped by Athena, who is willing to defend Olympus. As Zeus tries to flee, Kratos makes one more attempt on him, only for Athena to take the blow. Her dying words reveal that Zeus is his father and was hoping to break the cycle of son-killing-father, thus actually not caring for the well-being of Greece, but for his own position and life. Athena begs Kratos to stop his revenge, claiming that Zeus has to live so Olympus will prevail. Kratos snarls Kratos in God of War IIIhe has no father and declares that the time of the Gods is at an end. He goes back in the chamber of Loom, using it to get back in time again, to the Great War of the gods and the Titans. Kratos and The Second Great War "The hands of death could not defeat me, the Sisters of Fate could not hold me, and YOU will not see the end of this day! I WILL have my revenge!!” - Kratos See: God of War III Following the ending of God Of War II, God Of War III picks up directly after this with a stirring opening narration from Zeus discussing the actions of the rogue God of War, Kratos, who is 'commanding' a small army of Titans rescued from the Great War (using the power of the Fates). The Olympians immediately rush to battle; Hermes speeds down the very peaks of Olympus as Zeus watches on, Hercules receives the order to lead his troops down into the fray, Hades lunges off and engages several Titans in his giant form, and Poseidon (using his amazing aquakinesis) shoots down from Olympus like a missile and performs a death blow through the chest of Epimetheus, and then manifests himself as a massive water being and spawns several water horses called Leviathans to aid in the battle. With Poseidon as their greatest threat in the battle, having already decimated numerous Titans and soon going after Gaia herself, Kratos engages the God of the Sea and after drawing him into Gaia's grasp manages to knock a weakened Poseidon out of his godly form and onto a separate platform. The two berate each other briefly before Kratos walks up and beats the Lord of the Sea severely, finally gouging out his eyes and snapping his neck as he tosses him off into the ocean. With Poseidon's death, the seas cataclysm and ocean levels rise significantly, causing a flood that appears to engulf the entire world and destroying almost all of mankind save those on top of Olympia. After killing Poseidon, Gaia and Kratos reach Zeus's pavilion, where the king of the gods angrily anticipates Kratos's arrival and, at last, assaults them with a mighty blast of lightning that blows off a massive amount of Gaia's arm and sends the two spiraling down Olympus. However, even using the Blade of Olympus to stab into her back, Kratos is unable to hang on as Gaia fights to survive and climb back up to Zeus. She warns him that he was only a pawn and is now expendable now that the Titans have reached Zeus, allowing the embittered Spartan to tumble to his death. Kratos contemplates his life as he lurches through the River Styx and its caverns, and resolves to escape Hades (once again) and destroy Zeus. On his way to Hades's chamber after being sucked of nearly all of his power from the dead souls of Styx, he reunites with a newly-formed Athena who claims to have reached a "new level of existence" and is willing to help Kratos assume his revenge, granting him new weapons to survive the Underworld and the foes that lie ahead, and also defining his next quest of finding and extinguishing the Flame of Olympus in order to truly defeat Zeus. Kratos makes his way through the Underworld meeting a couple of lost souls, encountering statues of three Greek kings, meeting Hephaestus who informs him more and more about the secrets of Olympus and Zeus, and finding mysterious scrawls on the ground that he silently acknowledges to be from various people in his past, finally entering Hades's palace, finding the coffin-wed body of Persephone that Hades had restored, and engaging the Lord of the Underworld himself inside of a dark cavern. Hades matches Kratos until the bloodthirsty Spartan manages to rip off his helmet and steal his weapons, and then ripping out Hades's own soul and absorbs it using the Claws of Hades. Escaping the Underworld through a Hyperion Gate, Kratos renews his journey up along Olympus except that he now faces both the Titans and the Gods - he 'amputates' the legs of Hermes, mercilessly beats his own half-brother Hercules to death with the Cestus, breaks Hera's neck after she insults Pandora, a small child-like creation of Hephaestus who is the key to extinguishing the Flame of Olympus and revealing its contents, encountering a radiant Aphrodite and her handmaidens in the goddess's chamber, and finally arriving at the Flame's chamber with Pandora, only to be interrupted by Zeus himself. Zeus prevents Pandora from her destiny and engages Kratos, though the latter bests the King of the Gods in a duel and suddenly has a change of heart. Pandora was made to be the "Key" to Pandora's Box, which is what truly rests within the Flame of Olympus, and would have to sacrifice herself. However, due to inadvertent prodding from Zeus pleads that Kratos not "fail in his decisions this time", Kratos releases Pandora and attacks Zeus in a rage, only to be stunned by the Flame's dissipation. Kratos opens the Box once again, just as he had in the first game, only to discover that it is empty. Zeus mocks him for "another failure", and heads outside in order to recover while Kratos's fury boils even further. Father and son meet outside once again on a familiar platform, but before either can claim victory, the platform is suddenly shaken by a reawakened Gaia (believed to have been killed during the fight and subject of many Titans anger against Kratos), who violently shakes them and causes them to flee inside of her body. Inside of her chest, Kratos and Zeus duel near her heart; Zeus sucks her heart of her life and rejuvenates as does Kratos, and finally Kratos impales Zeus with the Blade of Olympus against Gaia's heart, killing both of them (although Zeus's Invincibility demonstrates that contrary to previous belief, he cannot be killed by the Blade of Olympus, yet it is notable that Kratos does not use the Blade on him as much as he did in their original epic battle in the second game). Awakening amidst cracked earth, Kratos finds Zeus's body impaled in the same position on a rock, and extracts the blade callously. But Zeus's spirit, consumed by some lasting hatred of his 'infidel' of a son, attacks and apparently drains Kratos of his willpower, his anger, and instead fills him with fear and a sense of loss whilst he is on the verge of death. Before dying, Kratos shares a last-minute mental journey with the guide of Pandora, whose spirit lives on within him, and begins abolishing the various things that torment his soul - the very things that the Astral Zeus is using to kill his mind, similar to what Ares once did. Overcoming these hurtles with a feeling of Hope, Kratos destroys Zeus's astral spirit with a final series of blows, ending the reign of the Olympians once and for all as it seems... Athena arrives to congratulate Kratos on his victory and requests that he turn over the power he claimed from Pandora's Box, but he reveals that there was nothing inside. Athena claims he is lying, because when the evils of the Titanomachy were first sealed into the box, as a safety measure, she placed into the box the "most powerful weapon in the world", hope, to counteract the evils. She demands Kratos return this power he obtained from the box that rightfully belongs to her, for now that the world is cleansed by chaos, she will rebuild it under her rule with the power of hope. Athena realizes, however, that when Kratos first opened the box to kill Ares, as the evils infected and took hold of the gods of Olympus, especially Zeus, the power of hope infused itself into Kratos. Hope had been buried deep beneath the anger, need for vengeance, and guilt, and when Kratos had finally learned to forgive himself for his past, he had released the power. She asks one more time for Kratos to aid her, but he refuses and chooses to instead commit suicide by impaling himself with the Blade of Olympus, releasing "Hope" into the moral world for humanity to embrace - an action that the ethereal Athena clearly despises, as she in fact wanted to rule using Hope in Olympus's stead. Removing the Blade from his chest, Athena voices her disappointment in Kratos and leaves, and the game closes with an exiting shot of Kratos, bleeding and dying on the ground, laughing to himself, his vengeance finally over. In a post-credits scene, the spot where Kratos's body was lying is now empty, and a trail of blood leads to the sea that now consumes the world... Weapons and powers Kratos possesses vast superhuman strength and stamina (the exact limits of which are yet to be determined). He has proven capable of overpowering the Hydra, throwing the Colossus of Rhodes after it attempted to crush him beneath its foot, torn the Blade of Olympus from Zeus' hands, and prevented Atlas from crushing him between his fingers. In God of War III, Kratos rips off Helios' head, using only his vast strength. It is unknown if Kratos was born with his god-like strength due to being Zeus' son. He also possesses great agility, durability, resilience, and reflexes. He is capable of Sensing danger and possesses great skills with all forms of weapons and magic. These are all due to his status as a demigod, an effect of being the son of Zeus. Thanks to this, Kratos is able to challenge monsters and even the gods themselves. Kratos also possesses High Resistance to most forms of attack that would easily kill most humans or magical beings, even to the point of being practically Immortal. Kratos' main weapons were once the Blades of Chaos, a gift from Ares. They are essentially two Falchion-like blades on long chains, permanently fused and seared to the wielder's forearms. Once Kratos killed Ares, Athena replaced them with a nearly identical pair of blades called the Blades of Athena, and then replaces them again in God of War III with the very similar Blades of Exile. Kratos displays great skill with all of his weapons. It's implied that he learned many of his fighting skills from Ares. Kratos, before and after becoming a god, gained many powers from the Gods. When he relinquished his old powers to the Blade of Olympus, he was given new powers by the Titans. Some of these powers resemble the powers/abilities of the Gods. The Blade of Olympus is one of Kratos' greatest weapons, as he has infused all of his godly Powers into it. As a god, Kratos is extremely powerful and Immortal as he most likely possessed all the powers of Ares, his older half brother and the original God of War. Zeus is the only being who is more powerful and it also seems that Kratos, having killed the Sisters of Fate, has absorbed their powers of Time control and can time travel. Appearance Kratos is the epitome of what a Spartan soldier is and looks like. Strong, tall, and living only for battle, prior to the series' actual time of taking place he had very tanned skin and a red tattoo going down the majority of his upper body and up to his face. On his face, besides the aforementioned tattoo, he has a scar on his right eye and a black goatee. After killing his beloved wife and child, two of the few people he truly cared for, the village oracle bound their ashes to his skin to be forever a reminder of the horrible thing he had done. As a Spartan General and prior to his service to Ares, Kratos wore very basic armor and after becoming the new God of War he wore a very elaborately decorated piece of armor. By the end of God of War III Kratos only wears a leather loincloth, Hermes' greaves, armlets with the chains of the Blades of Exile, and sandals. Personality Kratos as the great Spartan generalKratos is a very destructive, amoral, self-centered and brutal character. He is driven constantly by his rage and pride. In God of War, he blames the original God of War, Ares, for tricking him into killing his beloved wife and child while ensnared by blind fury. Likewise, in God of War II, he swears revenge on Zeus for deceiving, betraying, and killing him. Kratos occasionally does display feelings of guilt or sorrow, mostly for his family. However, these emotions are often converted to extreme rage. An example is when Kratos fatally stabbed Athena to death, killing her. Kratos also showed respect for the nameless Spartan Captain that he encountered several times in course of the second game. Unable to cope with the memory of his own misdeeds, Kratos has considered suicide on two separate occasions. He is surprised when Athena tells Kratos that he is the son of Zeus. In denial, he replies that he has no father. He does not truly accept this fact until the siege of Mount Olympus. Kratos told Zeus that his son brought the destruction of Olympus. The one and only time Kratos is shown to be happy is when he sees his daughter, Calliope, again in "Chains of Olympus". Trivia *Kratos is voiced by TC Carson in all games. *"Kratos" actually means "power" or "strength" in Greek. *Though Kratos isn't a character in actual Greek mythology, there is a being in myth named "Cratos". He is the son of Pallas and Styx and the personification of strength and power. *Kratos makes a guest appearance in SoulCalibur: Broken Destiny. He fights with the Blades of Chaos, Blade of Olympus, Icarus Wings, and Poseidon's Rage. *Kratos' family is shown to be the only people he has ever truly loved. The only time he has been seen smiling was when he found Calliope in the Underworld (And also briefly in Pandora's Temple when he was about to place a caged undead soldier into a furnace). Kratos was torn apart when he had to leave her. Later, when he encounters an illusion of his late wife, he actually begs her for forgiveness. He has never asked forgiveness before. He even refers to his wife as "my love". *In each God of War game Kratos' face is slightly different, e.g. his age appears somewhat different (from 25 - 60, on some concepts). *Interestingly, from God of War to God of War III, Kratos' tattoo gets thinner and thinner and changes slightly in design. In the first game, it stretches on his chest from close to his sternum to past his left nipple. In the second, it is closer to his nipple. In the final game, it doesn't cover his nipple at all. *In the Temple of Lahkesis in God of War II, Lahkesis speaks to Kratos through a statue of herself and tells him "only death awaits you in the end of your journey", which Kratos' apparent suicide at the end of God of War III seems to prove correct. However, in the final post-credits cutscene showing the site where Kratos fell, his body (and the Blade of Olympus) are missing, and a trail of blood leads to the nearby sea, leaving his final fate unknown. *In ''The Simpson's Game ''of 2008, a parody of God of War can be seen in the background of a level on a billboard. The words "God of Wharf" are written next to a picture of a Simpson-esque Kratos eating a bowl of chowder.